The Season I Loved You Without You - Chapter 57

CHAPTER 57

Go-yeo spent another night in the small house with Ga-eul and only ventured out the next day. She headed to school a bit early with Ga-eul, who mentioned that the school was so spacious that it was challenging to walk around as per his words.

“You had to run a lot when taking exams in distant buildings during exam periods.”

Go-yeo nodded in agreement as if she understood. She had never visited someone else’s school in Korea, and she had only been to Ji-hyuk’s school once when she visited the United States. That school seemed quite spacious too. She smoothly passed over it, thinking of him, as if exhaling naturally.

They parked the car and walked through the campus together. Ga-eul was dressed in Go-yeo’s preferred style rather than comfortably. He wore a semi-overcoat made of thin fabric, slacks, and shoes. People glanced at them due to the atmosphere that didn’t seem like typical college students.

“My dad graduated from this school.”

“Wow. Really?”

Ga-eul responded with apparent delight. He was excitedly explaining various parts of the campus. It seemed challenging to explore all the scattered buildings.

After lunchtime passed and there weren’t many people around, they stopped by the student cafeteria. Ga-eul ordered the famous pork cutlet and soybean paste stew.

Go-yeo sat by the window, looking outside. It was spring here. Both the season and the people. She smiled contentedly as she watched the students, as fresh as flower buds. For some reason, even though various food smells mingled, causing a slight headache, this noisy space felt okay.

Ga-eul sat opposite Go-yeo, elegantly cutting the pork cutlet into neat pieces. He placed it in front of Go-yeo along with a soup bowl and a spoon.

“Since you hardly ate since yesterday, make sure to eat.”

He smiled like a breeze, lifted his spoon, and started eating.

“Well, this menu is rumored to be quite tasty at school, but it’s my first time eating here too.”

Nodding, Go-yeo sipped the lukewarm soup. As someone who only ate homemade soup, it was a shocking taste due to the strong seasoning. She felt like stopping after a few sips, but seeing Ga-eul staring at her intently from across, she continued to move her utensils. With a slight smile at Ga-eul’s pleased expression, Go-yeo gestured as if to say, ‘You eat too.’

Ga-eul observed the process of Go-yeo cutting the pork cutlet with a knife and eating it into smaller pieces. There was no clinking of cutlery, and she elegantly ate, cutting smaller to avoid opening her mouth wide. It felt like eating a steak at a high-end restaurant rather than a school meal worth a few thousand won.

It was a natural habit for her, but for some reason, it seemed cute, so he smiled faintly. When Go-yeo asked him what he was smiling about, Ga-eul clamped his mouth shut and spoke in a low voice.

“Just because I like it…”

He thought it might be the first time he had a meal with her in a place like this. So he liked it even more.

After eating half of the pork cutlet or so, Ga-eul looked concernedly at Go-yeo, who was putting down her fork.

“Why are you stopping? Have a little more.”

“I’m full.”

“…Boss, you don’t need to worry about gaining weight.” 

Go-yeo whispered teasingly, approaching the table with a mischievous grin.

“I understand, but this figure doesn’t just come naturally.” 

Ga-eul widened his eyes at Go-yeo’s words. For a moment, he remembered her appearance from yesterday, wearing only his white t-shirt. Underneath the shirt, her bare skin was covered in red marks left by Ga-eul.

He felt his ears and the back of his neck heating up. As the heat started to gather in certain areas, making him feel uncomfortable, he quickly lowered his head and started eating.

* * *

Go-yeo spread a handkerchief on the small stone steps under the cherry blossom tree and sat down. After sending Ga-eul off to buy coffee, she observed the playground. Seeing the energetic male students running around after a basketball made her chuckle.

Ga-eul was also among them. Energetic Yoon Ga-eul. His energetic appearance, standing out without a single withered leaf, didn’t quite match his face.

“Excuse me.”

Turning around at the nearby presence, she saw a stranger. She glanced at the man and turned her head. The man approached and spoke.

“If you have time, would you like to have coffee together? Or maybe exchange numbers?”

Looking at the sudden development, Go-yeo grinned as if mockingly.

“I’m with someone.”

“Oh… I see. Are you a student at this school? Or a different one?”

She chuckled at the word “student.” Should she be grateful for being seen as young? It would be almost professor-like. Setting aside the pleasant words, she thought about what to say to end the conversation quickly.

Fortunately, she saw Ga-eul coming from behind. She thought he would take care of it when he arrived. Ga-eul looked a bit annoyed. He glanced between the stranger and Go-yeo.

“Go-yeo.”

Her eyebrows raised at the bold call, then settled back down. The man stood up, looking surprised.

“Oh? Yoon Ga-eul?”

Ga-eul frowned, apparently not recognizing him.

“I am Geum Jin-seo from the Department of Physical Education. We took a liberal arts class together in our first year. We did assignments together.”

“Oh.”

Ga-eul finally nodded in recognition, although his memory wasn’t entirely clear. But he was sure he was a classmate.

“So, you know each other?”

As the conversation seemed to drag on, Go-yeo quietly stood up, brushed off her handkerchief, and folded it. Then she accepted the coffee Ga-eul was holding.

“Have a good chat. I’ll leave first.”

Ga-eul decided to handle the slightly confused guy before following Go-yeo.

“What? Girlfriend? Wow, the atmosphere is no joke.”

Ga-eul looked serious as he glanced at the man who was making excuses.

“I’d appreciate it if you could chill.”

“I’m just joking about it being serious. Just trying it out. But seriously, it’s amazing.”

Ga-eul ignored the guy who kept talking nonsense and ran towards Go-yeo, who had already gone far. When he reached the parking lot in front of the building, Go-yeo was opening the driver’s seat door.

“…Are you leaving already?”

Go-yeo nodded calmly.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“What for?”

“For calling out your name suddenly.”

Go-yeo burst into a clear laugh.

“It wasn’t too bad. Come on, you have class.”

Ga-eul gained courage from Go-yeo’s bright expression. So he reached out and lightly held her hand, which was holding the door. There had been many more intense moments between them, but for some reason, such an act required courage.

“Can I keep calling your name then?”

“Whose name did you keep calling in bed?”

Embarrassed, Go-yeo turned away from the blushing Ga-eul and got into the car. Her face was filled with a smile like a flower bud on a spring day.

* * *

Yoon-young knew that the man hadn’t come to her simply to recruit her.

‘Do you happen to be interested in politics?’

It was a question from an aide to Representative Do Sung-guk. Yoon-young couldn’t answer on the spot. But finding a way out was just as good as she did.

‘Was this why Moon Ji-hyuk said my thinking was narrow-minded?’

She didn’t need to hold onto him forcibly. So after meeting the aide, Yoon-young immediately found Yun Seung-ok and informed her of the breakup.

“Mother, I can’t marry Ji-hyuk.”

Her excessively calm demeanor was evidence that she was flustered.

“Really? Why? As you know, this isn’t as easy as turning over your hand.”

“I know. But I’ve fallen out of love with Ji-hyuk.”

“Yoon-young, marriage isn’t just about affection and love.”

“Yes, I know that too. But you know I wanted to marry Ji-hyuk because of love, right? Ji-hyuk has been divorced, and there are some personal issues… Even though there are some concerns, I came this far because I liked him, but not anymore.”

The personal issues mentioned here were Yun Seung-ok’s past. The third wife, the mistress, the adulteress, Moon Ji-hyuk, and the numerous half-siblings. It was a word meant to sting Yun Seung-ok.

“…?”

Seung-ok barely managed to smile, but her trembling lips showed signs of distress. Yoon-young barely restrained herself from snickering. Then she maintained her expression of pity.

And when she immediately called Ji-hyuk to tell him about the breakup, things progressed swiftly. The next day, there was news of the engagement being canceled. Yoon-young’s father, Jo Hee-chang, found out about this news through the article and was furious. Yoon-young paid no attention to Hee-chang’s reaction.

[Opposition Party Recruits Young Talent – Lawyer Jo Yoon-young, Daughter of Democratic Party’s Jo Hee-chang]

[Completely Different Political Paths of a Father and Daughter. Jo Yoon-young, Daughter of Jo Hee-chang from the Democratic Party, Joins the Opposition Party.]

Yoon-young chuckled as she read the new article. It was a perfect betrayal and revenge. Being used as a tool by her father in her life had been the price. Tears welled up in her eyes as she chuckled, stealing a glance at her eyes, which had become slightly damp.

“Why couldn’t I do this sooner? Really.”

Yoon-young’s name always carried the epithet of being Jo Hee-chang’s daughter, and every time, it was likely more bitter for Hee-chang than for her. Yoon-young didn’t have high expectations for her political career. She wasn’t interested in politics, and rather than grabbing Hee-chang’s leash by stepping into politics, she had decided to splash mud instead. Being young was good for times like this.

“Ambitious young politician. Jo Yoon-young, who chose a different path from her father based on her firm political beliefs.”

How convincing these phrases were. She didn’t have firm political beliefs, but she had modest goals that seemed pitiful to others. Of course, there were not only positive reactions. Public opinions were pointing out the discord in her family and the issues with her relationships with other women. But ultimately, it would be Hee-chang who would bear the brunt of it, and Yoon-young would become the victim.

That’s what parents were. They easily inflicted wounds without even realizing it. Having fulfilled their duties and responsibilities, they should be gratefully acknowledged.

“But honestly, I’m not particularly grateful.”

Yoon-young chuckled slowly as she picked up the phone to contact Ji-hyuk.

“What’s next?”

– I understand, but they don’t completely trust you in their party. I’ll give you some data to hand over to Representative Do Sung-guk.

“Got it. But what does Ji-hyuk gain from this?”

– Perfect freedom.

It was an indifferent response as if he didn’t care about worldly matters. Yoon-young muttered as she looked at the disconnected phone.

“I thought things had changed, but people’s nature doesn’t change.”

She had thought of Moon Ji-hyuk as a fickle person.